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A computer software model for the assessment of commercial property loans

Wright, John Beric

2001-03

ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The development of computer software is a complex and laborious task,
further complicated by the fact that copyright legislation is vague, at
best. If the software is being developed for commercial exploitation then
speed to market is essential and, even then, there is little to prevent
skilled competitors from copying or even cloning the model.
During the course of the year 2000 a team of developers, c ompr t s tn g
Phillip Munday, Chris Vietri and the writer, not only managed to
develop and prototype a complex loan evaluation software model, but
have carried it through to the initial stages of a phased implementation
and are presently involved in negotiations to sell the intellectual
property rights (IPR) to a firm which specialises in the marketing of
software to the banking industry internationally. It is virtually
impossible for a single person to develop a model of this nature as it
requires a comprehensive skills asset, including broad-based financial
knowledge, specialised banking skills as well as a sound knowledge of
information systems architecture, not to mention software p rogramming
skills. The implementation and subsequent sale of the model further
required comprehensive project management skills as well as the human
resources understanding required for the substantial change management
involved. Each of these 3 parties brought not only their particular
exp ert i se to the table, but also a holistic view of the final shap e and
form of the model.
As is the case with projects of this magnitude numerous difficulties were
encountered. These were, however, all overcome, via a series of
iterations, and the model was introduced to the business on schedule. The implementation itself was fraught with difficulty, but the
combination of a phased approach, together with comprehensive training
and support, has led to the acceptance of the model by business users.
There remain some technical difficulties which require to be resolved,
particularly the disappointing performance of the model over a wide area
network and also its integration with existing systems, but the model
itself has exceeded expectations. It is simple to use, allows for a
comprehensive and focused loan assessment and offers the ability to
perform sophisticated sensitivity analysis in a fraction of a second.
The model is now in its final shape and has been formally named Version
1.0, yet a great deal of work remains. We, as a bank, are not ideally
suited to become purveyors of software and need to expedite the
transfer of the IPR to a neutral party, to avoid local banks who might
wish to purchase it from viewing our involvement with suspicion. Once
this has been done, and the final phase of implementation concluded in
March 2001, we will be able to move on to the exciting task of creating
derivatives of the model, aimed at meeting the needs of other elements
of the industry.